It was hard to tell if Gov. Chris Christie was amused or annoyed when asked yesterday about the chatter surrounding his lavish praise for President Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy.

Christie gave an intentional cough before launching into an answer in front of hundreds of cold but friendly Hoboken residents: “This is the kind of silliness that really drives me crazy.” (Friedman, The Star Ledger)

Ridgewood NJ, Hello, I am a new resident of Ridgewood and and I really appreciate your blog. My husband and I are staying in NYC because of Sandy while we wait for power back at our house. I just wanted to make you aware of a situation going on with the Bergen County Clerk’s office.

We submitted requests for email ballots and they sent us both River Edge ballots instead of Ridgewood, even though they typed our Ridgewood address into the ballot. It’s been impossible to reach them for a correction, and a lot of people I know have been trying to fax in the request for a ballot and you cannot even get a fax or phone call through to the Bergen County Clerk’s office.

I tried three different numbers for them, none of them are answering. I did manage to get a human on the phone around 7 am who said she would try to rectify the problem and send me Ridgewood ballot but I never heard back from her.

Have you heard of anyone else who received the wrong ballot, or who could not get their request for a ballot through at all? The whole thing seems like a complete failure.

We sent in the fax request for a ballot while this thing was still kind of under the radar … people I know who have been trying since last night and cannot get anything response!

SENATOR KYRILLOS ALWAYS A CLASS ACT APPLAUDS OUT OF STATE EMERGENCY WORKERS HELPING IN NEW JERSEY

Senator Joe Kyrillos visited the Atlantic County Emergency Shelter in Egg Harbor this morning to applaud the more than 150 out of state emergency responders who are being housed there as they have been dispatched to New Jersey to help with Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

The shelter also houses 70 ambulances. While all crews are based out of the shelter in Atlantic County, they are dispersed throughout the state daily, aiding recovery efforts in Hazlet in Monmouth County, Hoboken in Hudson County, and the Meadowlands in Bergen County.

The Executive Director of the Emergency Medical Service Institute, Thomas McElree, has been managing the shelter which provides warm meals and a place to sleep for all the out of state emergency responders.

“Our New Jersey spirit is strong, but we certainly appreciate other states lending us their hard working emergency management personnel to help rebuild after the storm. I salute them, and all those who are putting their lives on hold to come to our rescue,” said Senator Joe Kyrillos.

Senator Kyrillos then traveled to Brick to lend a hand at the FEMA site where food and supplies are being handed out, and disaster assistance is available for local residents.

“I continue to offer my support, assistance, and solace to those who have lost so much. Recovering from the devastation will be long and arduous, but we will emerge Jersey Strong,” encouraged Senator Kyrillos.

U.S. Per Person Debt Now 35 Percent Higher than that of Greece’
4:27 PM, NOV 5, 2012 • BY DANIEL HALPER

A chart from the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee shows that “U.S. Per Person Debt [Is] Now 35 Percent Higher than that of Greece.”

“According to estimates from the International Monetary Fund, America’s total government debt will be $16.8 trillion by the end of the calendar year, compared to $441 billion for Greece,” the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee explains. “On a per person basis, that means U.S. debt is $53,400 for every man, woman, and child, compared to $39,400 for every man, woman, and child in Greece. The disparity between per capita debt in the U.S. and Greece has grown 40 percent (roughly $8,400) since 2011. Now, U.S. per person debt is 35 percent higher than that of Greece, and is also higher than per capita debt in Portugal, Italy, or Spain (which together with Greece make up the so-called PIGS countries).”

One of the most advertised and yet under-analyzed themes of this presidential campaign is President Obama’s slogan “Forward”.

It’s been said that Karl Marx used a similar phrase to generate support for his worker’s movement in the 1800’s that resulted in the formation of the Communist Party. Whether Obama and his campaign managers sought to mirror Marx, consciously or unconsciously, is unknown.

However, what we do know is that President Obama is urging voters to support his re-election because “we’ve come too far to turn back now.”

The question is “too far to what?” In what direction are we traveling and what is our ultimate destination? Perhaps more importantly, does the driver have any idea how to operate the vehicle?

Over the past four years, unemployment has hovered above 8% while the federal debt has grown by almost $5 trillion. More Americans are in poverty and on food stamps today – and fewer are gainfully employed – than when Mr. Obama took office.

Despite these troubling trends, the president wants us to give his agenda more time to work. Casting blame on his predecessor, he argues that no one could have cleaned up the economic mess he inherited in just four years…although he promised to do exactly that in 2008.

And so, America stands at a crossroads of sorts. Do we give a man who never ran as much as a lemonade stand in the private sector another term to see if his failed policies will eventually work? Or do we apply the brakes and head in a different direction…even if that direction is reverse?

BERGEN COUNTY — With two open seats on the Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Republicans stand to lose their 5-2 majority on the board if the Democrats sweep the freeholder election on Tuesday.

But the board’s party makeup belies the politics of county governance, with members of the Republican party split on issues like police consolidation and the county’s stringent pay-to-play restrictions.

The Ridgewood Public Schools will be open this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, November 7, 8 and 9.

11.05.12: UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
3:30 P.M.:

Dear RPS Parents and Guardians,

The Ridgewood Public Schools will be open this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, November 7, 8 and 9. Depending on the progress that is made by PSE&G over the next few days, we will implement a plan that includes an alternative school schedule and probable alternative school locations.

The alternative school schedule, or split sessions, will run from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. All students will be assigned to attend either the morning or the afternoon session on each day that a split session is necessary.

The detailed schedule and locations will be made public on Tuesday, November 6, but will be subject to change based on progress made by PSE&G.

Unfortunately, regular bus service will not be operative during this time. However, we will provide in and out of district special education bussing. If your child’s special education bus does not arrive, I suggest that you call the contact information you have been given, or perhaps you will be able to transport your child independently. We will not be serving lunches. Principals will inform you if they want your child to bring a snack. In addition, the “Y” before and afterschool care programs in our schools will not be open. I apologize for these inconveniences.

Although these interim learning conditions and schedules may not be ideal, I believe that we have come up with a plan that reflects the best way to get students back into the classroom under these unique circumstances. I know that you share my concern about our students losing any more school days that will have to be made up at a future date. It’s also important for everyone’s well-being that we attempt to resume our routines as best as we can.

I hope this message reaches more people as power is slowly being returned to our homes. Please share this information with neighbors and friends who may still be without Internet service.

Following Hurricane Sandy, PATH will resume limited rail service on Tuesday, November 6, beginning at 5 a.m. Trains will run from Journal Square in Jersey City to 33rd Street in Manhattan and in the return direction until 10 p.m.

If your Power is Back on ,thank a Lineman
November 5.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, I know this has been very frustrating but sometime around 6 pm November 5th we began getting more and more reports of more Village residents getting there power restored. Lets take time to thank the thousands of lineman from as far as Utah and California that are spanned out across the Garden State.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie should take the time to heap the same amount of praise in the direction of the many electric linemen working tirelessly to restore power to hard-hit areas of New Jersey as he did for President Obama .

Thousands of lineman from as far as Utah and California are spanned out across the Garden State, are working feveriously in terrible conditions to get the power back up for residents still without electricity, down from at peak of at least 2.4 million after Sandy first hit.

Their job is tough. PSE&G CEO Ralph LaRossa referred to it as “hand-to-hand combat” as crews work diligently on specific towns. Since Tuesday, most lineman have been working 16 hour days removing thousands of downed trees, replacing hundreds of damaged poles and running miles of wire in brutal conditions.( http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/component/flexicontent/item/46514-%20electric-linemen-deserve-our-praise?Itemid=248 )